


no one will mind

by A Magiluna Stormwriter (ariestess)



Series: no one will mind [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Anniversary, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Hyperion Heights, Love From OQ, Mild Language, Multi, Romantic Fluff, Shmoop, Singing, Surprises, Swearing, Threesome - F/F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 16:31:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17790872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariestess/pseuds/A%20Magiluna%20Stormwriter
Summary: "So tonight's a very special night for me, and this song's an integral part of that.  I've liked it for most of my life, you see, but it was exactly one year ago tonight that its meaning changed significantly for me."





	no one will mind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anamiii](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anamiii/gifts).



> Date Written: 13-14 February 2019  
> Word Count: 3279  
> Written for: LoveFromOQ 2019  
> Recipient: anamiii  
> Summary: "So tonight's a very special night for me, and this song's an integral part of that. I've liked it for most of my life, you see, but it was exactly one year ago tonight that its meaning changed significantly for me."  
> Spoilers: Non-magical AU set in Hyperion Heights. Regina still adopted Henry, but with Mal, in a closed adoption. Robin and Marian had Roland, but Marian died about a year later.  
> Warnings: No standard warnings apply.  
> Series: no one will mind  
> Website: ShatterStorm Productions – Doggie Duo  
> Link to: http://bdkk.shatterstorm.net/  
> Archive: ShatterStorm Productions & AO3 only…all others ask for permission & we'll see…  
> Feedback: Constructive criticism is always welcome.
> 
> Author’s Disclaimer: "Once Upon a Time," the characters, and situations depicted are the property of Adam Horowitz, Edward Kitsis, Kitsis/Horowitz, and ABC Studios. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. This site is in no way affiliated with "Once Upon a Time," ABC, or any representatives of the actors.
> 
> Author’s Notes: Okay, so this is actually not what I'd initially intended to write for my recipient's gift. My original plan was to write the story that takes place a year before this one. But it ended up being too big and I was stressing myself out that I wouldn't get it done enough in time for Valentine's Day. And then yesterday this idea came to mind as I was listening to the Styx song "First Time" for what feels like the billionth time. I then proceeded to write my ass off on this fic to at least give you a taste of the world being created for these three dorks in love. I will be finishing the bigger fic in time, but I wanted to give this lovely new verse a chance for anamiii.
> 
> For the record, I played the song probably forty or fifty times while writing this fic, ngl… I have it memorized. I firmly maintain that Sean's voice is closer to Tommy Shaw's than Dennis DeYoung's, but this is a DeYoung power ballad, so I picture Robin kind of straining on some of the higher notes. It's just a personal preference, I guess? LOLOL 
> 
> Dedication: My muses, as usual…
> 
> Beta: Jess is SUCH a godsend, you have no idea!

The clan booth is filled to capacity tonight. One would think the various couples would be off doing something romantic for Valentine's Day, but this bar is a part of them, just as it was for its two owners. Regina is tucked into the corner against the wall, head resting on Robin's shoulder as she watches Mal and John do their magic up at the bar. They're currently involved in a contest to see who can make a Long Island Iced Tea the fastest. The winner gets to claim the lion's share of the tips for the next hour, as well as bragging rights. John's been losing their challenges all night, and Regina's starting to think that he's throwing them for Mal. She's pretty sure that it's part of the game for the two of them, taking turns losing intentionally to let one have bragging rights in alternating years. Their bond as blood siblings is tight and the central focal point of this large, ragtag clan of chosen family they've cultivated over the years.

Will wanders over to the booth, a shit-eating grin on his face that makes Regina tense slightly in preparation for whatever he's planning. He drops a kiss to Ana's temple, nuzzling into her hair briefly, and Regina can't help but grin at the move she knows he learned from Robin. After a moment, he looks up to meet her gaze and winks, setting the two Long Island Iced Teas down in front of her and Ana. "Drinks for the loveliest of the lovelies."

Regina feels her cheeks heat up at his words, but accepts the drink anyway. "Thank you, Will, but you're _still_ not going to get a kiss with tongue from me. It would take a lot more alcohol" --his eyes light up, brows waggling suggestively at her -- " _and_ I don't think your boss would be too pleased with you poaching on what's hers."

Will has the grace to look sheepish at that, eyes darting back toward the bar, where they can all see Mal watching them with narrowed eyes as she makes another drink for a customer. "Fair's fair," he admits and kisses Ana's temple again. "Plus, I have all I need right here."

"Smart man," Ana says softly, making all of them laugh. No one is concerned about the love between the high school sweethearts.

"Hey, Rob," Will says a moment later, "Rick and Alan are on bar duty with the dragon queen and John's just gotten his ass kicked _again_ , so I was thinking it might be a good time for that thing we talked about?"

The muscles in Robin's arm around her shoulder bunch up, and she can feel his heartbeat speed up slightly. Before she can ask if he's okay, he nods and presses a kiss to her hair. "I suppose this is as good a time as any."

Regina melts at his kiss, like she has every single time he's done it. She never thought she'd find anyone as physically demonstrative toward her as Mal, but Robin is every bit as comfortable showering her with constant affection, and she happily basks in it. A soft hum escapes her as she leans back to lose herself in those blue eyes of his briefly before he leans in to capture her lips in a soft kiss. When he pulls back, nuzzling his nose against hers, she smiles. "You're up to something, Locksley."

Robin chuckles, dimples standing out prominently. "Betwixt and between," he says with a shrug. "But I _did_ agree to help out with the entertainment tonight, so…"

She offers him a playful pout, but Mal's voice precludes her saying anything. "Scarlet, I hope you gave my wife the drink I made specifically for her." The teasingly predatory smile curling up Mal's lips sends a jolt of arousal through Regina. Fifteen years together and she still can't get enough of her wife. "No offense, Ana, but you _do_ know that you can do better than this lazy SOB, right?"

"Oi! Standing right here, Magdalen!"

Regina sucks in a breath at that, eyes darting between her wife and one of their oldest friends, wondering what will happen. Mal licks her lips and winks at Regina before leaning in to plant one on Ana. "When you realize this idiot you love truly is a reckless idiot with a death wish, you come find me and mine. We'll take good care of you." She levels a glare on Will that would be terrifying if not for the twinkle of mischief. "And you? You just got the gift of cleaning the filters and the grease traps for a month."

"But I don't wo--"

"Wanna go for two?" When he shakes his head, Mal snorts softly and shifts to walk around him toward Regina and Robin. "Alan and Rick strong-armed me into taking a break to bask in my winnings, so I decided to come canoodle with my best girl and best guy."

"Just your best girl," Robin says softly, tilting his head up to accept a kiss from her. "The lads and I need to go do a thing."

"A thing?" Mal asks with a pout. "I _finally_ get out from behind the bar for a while and you're going to abandon me? And on Valentine's Day? What kind of husband-in-training are you, Robin Locksley?"

"The kind that keeps his promises?" he replies, effectively cutting off any smartass remark Will is about to make. "It's just a short bit of live music for everyone, then I'm back here for a while again." He grins then, the tip of his tongue peeking out from between his teeth. "I mean, how honorable would I be to break my promises to the sexy and powerful proprietress of this fine establishment?"

Regina chokes back a laugh at his cheeky response, but it's the suspicious narrowing of Mal's eyes and her _Smooth fucker_ that has Regina's laughter bubbling up from her gut and bursting out to ricochet off the air around them, getting the others to join her. She leans on the wall behind her, eyes closing as her whole body shakes with her mirth. It takes a couple of minutes before her laughter dies away, and she wipes away the tears. That's when Robin captures her lips again, nibbling at her bottom lip in that teasing way he has. _Fuck!_ He's not playing fair with either of them tonight apparently.

"All right, love, you and Mal get yourselves reacquainted whilst the lads and I do our thing." He dots a kiss to the tip of her nose, then pushes at Will, who's chosen this moment to start snogging Ana for all he's worth. "Come along then, Will, we've a thing and you've all night to snog your bird."

"When he's not working the bar," Cru suddenly pipes up. "Speaking of which, darling, could you bring me another before you start doing whatever it is you're going to do?" Before anyone can respond, Mari steps up to the table with a tray laden down with a new round for everyone. Cru reaches up for her gin and tonic, recognizing the glass instantly. "Oh, bless you, you lovely girl. If I wasn't so painfully taken, I'd snog you into the best orgasm of your life right now."

Regina _had_ been in the process of taking a sip of her drink when Cru uttered those words, and she starts to cough violently in an attempt to get the liquid out of her lungs. Robin's hand gently thumps against her back, his voice softly encouraging her to just relax and breathe. When the coughing spasms finally stop, she wipes her eyes and leans against the wall weakly.

"You okay, Kitten?" Mal asks, the worry clear in her tone. "Cru, you're paying for _all_ of the drinks tonight for this table for that."

Cru splutters out an apology and tries to reach for Regina's drink. "Of course, darling, and we mustn't let this lovely drink go to waste."

Regina's hand snakes out to wrap around her glass. "Touch my drink and you lose your hand. The one that Urs likes the best."

"Hey, whoa!" Ursula says, tugging Cru's hand back. "You can't just go threatening my girl like that." Before Regina can reply, she turns to face her partner. "And _you_ know better than to take a drink that Mal's made for Regina. Do you _want_ to die on Valentine's Day?"

Cru's lips curl up lasciviously. "Only if it's when you do that thing with your tongue that I like."

"And on that note," Robin says loudly, rolling his eyes, "I need to get out of this booth so I can do my thing and come back to my girls."

Ursula shifts her chair to let Ana and Tink out of the booth. Robin kisses Regina again before sliding out of the booth to pull Mal into his arms for a brief snuggle and snog, as he likes to call it. When he lets her go, she takes his place in the booth and pulls Regina into a gentle hug. The rest of the table's denizens resituate themselves as Robin and Will make their way up to the small stage, Will's _Oi, Little, get over here!_ causing John to step out from behind the bar. Regina can see Tiana stepping out from the kitchen, a soft smile on her face when John detours over to kiss her briefly before he continues on to settle behind the drum kit. She feels Mal tense when Alan steps out from behind the bar to join them, and she tightens her grip on her wife to keep her in place.

"Evening, everyone," Robin says as he steps up to the mic, picking up an electric guitar, rather than the acoustic he's had for as long as Regina's known him. "Happy Valentine's Day to the couples celebrating tonight and happy Thursday night to those who aren't." He glances back to see Will adjusting the strap on his bass and sassing Alan, who's futzing with his keyboards. "The lads and I were asked to do a little something to start off the open mic tonight. We thought it might be nice to do something a little different from the usual standards tonight. The regulars will know that I have a bit of a penchant for the rock ballads from my formative years in the 70s and 80s."

"You're a mushy romantic, mate," Will says, getting chuckles from the crowd, then turns to blow a kiss at Ana.

Robin just rolls his eyes and chuckles. "Guilty as charged. Tonight we're going to do a song we've never performed in public before. I'm actually a little nervous about this one, to be honest. It's got a lot of personal significance for me and it's actually a little outside of my range, but we couldn't find a good key to transpose to that would still make it sound right, so I'm just going to have to strain a little on some of the higher notes. My apologies for the clunkers I'm sure will slip in." He rubs the back of his neck, and Regina can see the blush darkening his cheeks.

"What on earth is he up to?" Mal mutters, lips brushing against Regina's ear accidentally.

"So tonight's a very special night for me, and this song's an integral part of that. I've liked it for most of my life, you see, but it was exactly one year ago tonight that its meaning changed significantly for me." He pauses to turn his gaze on Regina, and she feels her whole body flush with the memories of what happened a year ago tonight. "That night, I went on a date that changed my life and allowed me to reconnect with a part of myself I'd thought had died alongside my wife five years ago. This song played that night and I've been working for the better part of this past year to perfect it for the lovely lady who helped me find love again that night. Well, there are two of them actually, but…" His words trail off and he offers a sheepish, utterly besotted smile, complete with the tip of his tongue peeking out from between his teeth.

"That son of a bitch," Mal mutters, squeezing Regina closer.

"You didn't know he was going to do this?" Regina asks softly.

"I had no clue."

"So let me just dedicate this song and all of my love to my girls. Thank you both for taking a chance on me, and happy anniversary, love."

He clears his throat, turning to look at each of his bandmates briefly before nodding. Alan's fingers pick out the opening chords of the song, Will's bass adding in a counterpoint. Robin turns back to the mic, licking his lips, and locks his eyes on Regina's as he begins to sing in a tremulous tone.

_"The lights are low_  
_And we're alone_  
_The fire's glow_  
_It keeps us warm"_

Regina recognizes the song instantly as the one they'd shared their first dance to on that fateful "blind date" that Mal had set up a year ago. She loses herself in his voice, remembering her own shock at seeing Robin already seated at the table when she was guided over. It had taken them a bit to realize that Mal had intentionally played on their repressed feelings for each other to get them to realize what all three of them actually needed. Tears slip down her cheeks as she stares at Robin, not breaking their eye contact, listening to his words, knowing that he's ignoring everyone and everything in the room except for her and Mal. 

The song continues, and she can feel Mal's tears dropping to her shoulder as she hums softly with the song. She's not even surprised that her wife knows the song. She may even have known its significance all along. _Of course, she knows, you idiot_ , Regina thinks to herself, remembering all of the times Robin would pull her into a dance anytime the song would play in the background. They always managed to get Mal to join them, but Robin _always_ began the dance with her alone.

_"So don't be shy, 'cause it's okay_  
_I understand feeling that way_  
_Hold my hand, don't be afraid_  
_Of the feelings in your heart_  
_Just close your eyes, no one will mind_  
_If we're to fall in love this first time"_

As the song comes to a close, Regina can't even see the stage anymore. The tears obscure everything, and she can't keep her sobs quiet. Mal holds her tightly, pressing kisses to her temple between whispered echoes of the words Robin sings. Regina doesn't even care that Robin's voice broke several times as he strained to hit the higher notes; it just made this performance all the more special to her. She blinks rapidly as people begin to clap loudly, a few whistles piercing the air. She focuses on the stage again, but Robin's not there. Before she can look around for him, she and Mal are being tugged from the booth and into the warm, loamy pine-scented embrace of their love. Her sobs return in earnest as she clutches at both of them, feeling his lips peppering kisses to her hair.

"I love you both so fucking much," he whispers raggedly, and she realizes he's just as moved as she and Mal are. 

It hits her hard that this is what they've needed all these years. This is it for her. She has her wife and the fifteen years of love, and now she has Robin and the culmination of years of unrequited love that he'd reciprocated without her knowing until Mal had gotten sneakily bold a year ago and made them both face the truth of their feelings.

Before she can truly process what's happening, Robin lets go of both of them to drop to one knee and take a black velvet box from Ana.

"R-Robin?" she asks, suddenly reminded of the audience surrounding them. All those watchful eyes weight heavily on her, and the hush that falls over the bar is almost eerily synchronized. A quick glance at Mal shows her wife is equally emotional and rendered mute by all of this.

"You both know that I have loved you for a long time," Robin says softly, but his voice echoes loudly in tandem with her racing heartbeat. "This past year has proven that I could find and crave love in my life again. I am so grateful to both of you for navigating this crazy life we're building together." He pauses to open the box to reveal three matching rings of silver bands with hearts of silver, gold, and rose gold.

Regina lets out a particularly loud sob at the sight of the rings. She knows without asking which heart belongs to each of them on the rings. "R-Robin?" she rasps out again.

"I know it's only been a year since our first actual date, but I knew by the end of the night that you two were all I needed to feel complete again. Regina, Magdalen, will you both allow me the honor of becoming your husband, the point to complement and complete the curves of your hearts?"

Neither of them can speak, overwhelmed by the emotions of the moment and his words. He must sense their hesitance, glancing around the room briefly before meeting their gazes again with a soft smile as he sings once more, adjusting the words slightly as he stretches out his right hand to them. "Hold my hand, don't be afraid of the feelings in your heart. Just close your eyes, no one will mind if we're to fall in love this last time."

As if one, Regina and Mal reach out to grasp his hand, lacing their hands as they have for a year now, with Regina's smaller hand nestled between their larger ones. Regina turns to look at Mal briefly and nods, voice completely disappearing on her. She turns her gaze back to Robin, nodding as Mal huskily says, "We would be honored to call you husband in truth, Robin. You complete us in all possible ways."

The smile that lights up his face is incandescent, and she's sure hers and Mal's match its brilliance. He fumbles with the box, trying to retrieve a ring while still holding their hands. She lets out a sound that's half-chuckle, half-sob as John takes the box from him, steadying it as he pulls out the smallest of the three rings and slips it on her right ring finger. He quickly slips Mal's ring on her right ring finger, and they all laugh as they both reach for the final ring. It takes a few seconds of maneuvering to disentangle their interlaced hands, then Regina holds the ring as Mal's fingers rest on hers to guide the ring onto his right ring finger. And then he's on his feet to pull them both into a tight embrace, kissing each of them in turn as the bar erupts into raucous cheers and clapping.

"Happy Valentine's Day, miladies," he murmurs as they rest their foreheads together. "I love you both and promise to do so until and beyond my dying breath."

"I love you both so much," Regina whispers brokenly, truly overwhelmed by all of this.

"Shh, Kitten, we love you, too," Mal replies just as softly, the three of them lost in their own little world and the possibilities of their future. "We're all in this together, never alone again."

"Together," Robin says, "the three of us, tonight and always."

**Author's Note:**

> Check out the "First Time" by Styx [video](https://youtu.be/dIR4PjlKaPY) & [lyrics](https://genius.com/Styx-first-time-lyrics)
> 
>   
> Booth seating chart
> 
>   
> Source


End file.
